Parliamentary committee adopts confirmation hearing report for justice minister nominee

A parliamentary committee in South Korea approved a confirmation hearing report for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won on Thursday, despite objections from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP). Lawmakers from the PPP walked out of the plenary meeting of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee, expressing dissatisfaction with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) approach to the nomination.

Park Hyeung-soo, a PPP representative, stated before leaving the session that none of the allegations raised during the hearing had been fully resolved. The DPK defended their decision, asserting that nominee Kim had sufficiently explained his actions during the confirmation hearing on Tuesday. This included Kim's claim that he had illegally lobbied the food and drug safety ministry to expedite approval for a COVID-19 treatment in 2021 at the request of a broker.

Kim Seung-won, a two-term lawmaker, has previously served as a judge at the Jeonju District Court and the Suwon District Court. Prior to his current role, he worked in the office of political affairs under the Moon Jae-in administration.